1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a toy vehicle assembly and more particularly to a toy vehicle that is responsive to variations in frictional resistance along a support surface and a method of subjectively providing a removable frictional guide pattern.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The toy industry is quite familiar with various forms of controlling the direction of a self-propelled toy vehicle.
One type of toy found in the prior art takes the form of a tractor which is designed to reverse its motion upon contacting an obstacle. Different variations of this toy vehicle are known to provide a toy that will randomly respond to various obstacles in a non-controlled manner such as the Canadian Patent No. 960,860.
Another series of toys includes a road race set with various subjectively controlled racing cars. Generally, the individual cars are controlled by tracks in the form of either slots or electrical conduits embedded in or on the surface of the track. The track is sold either as a unitary playing surface or with individual track segments. While a limited degree of subjective layout of the track is possible, by varying the arrangement of the individual track segments, these variations are extremely limited. The following U.S. patents are cited of general interest, U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,286; U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,404 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,205,618.
A final form of controlled toy is known in the prior art wherein radio signals can be picked up by a receiver in the car and solenoids can vary the position of the wheels in response to the signals. Alternatively, a wire can be directly connected to the car to transmit the control signals either electronically or through a flexible mechanical cable.
The prior art is still seeking a relatively economical toy vehicle that can be controlled during its locomotion in a manner that will heighten the child's enjoyment of the game and provide a maximum amount of subjective control.